


Si Fueris Romae, Romano Vivito More

by Kotomine



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Between Seasons/Series, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 14:01:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6613378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kotomine/pseuds/Kotomine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For once, the king follows in lieu of leading.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Si Fueris Romae, Romano Vivito More

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MagicalOndine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalOndine/gifts).



Kirei had always grown up never settling in one place for too long, literally born in transit while his parents were on pilgrimage in some forgettable part of the European countryside. Because of that, his constant travels between Fuyuki and wherever the Church needed him to go were nothing beyond routine for him. He wasn't worried about the costs, as they were covered as organizational expenses; even if they weren't, his now-late teacher's estate had already provided any extra income that he could have needed. Kirei was not so irresponsible to spend it frivolously, but at her age, young Rin would hardly miss it.  
  


Flights never seemed as long as they actually were to Kirei. It was a good time to catch up on sleep, or to do some reading that he otherwise wouldn't be able to find time for. But, before he knew it, the attendants would announce their arrival, and his work had to begin as soon as he stepped outside the terminal. This particular trip led him to Rome, and admittedly he felt a slight sense of nostalgia upon landing. Well, as much nostalgia as Kirei could feel from anything. It was something more akin to “oh, it _has_ been quite a while since I last saw those hills” than actual fond remembrance. Whether the ruins of Caracalla's bath or the expanse of the Colosseum, he couldn't find himself able to muster the awe that most other visitors would have in spades. Perhaps it was his attire, but the locals found it hardly surprising when he spoke Italian– although they did wonder if he was from a distant part of the country, given his strange intonational mistakes. He was getting rusty, but maybe that hardly mattered. Everything thus far was going smoothly– at least, until he thought he misheard the hotel staff.  
  


“I had reserved a room for one person,” he asked, stumbling over his word in confusion.  
  


“That had been your initial request, yes, but our records indicate a move to a larger suite as well as an additional guest being added to your bill… the other guest you had added to the reservation has already gone to the room with his luggage, if I recall.” The reception staff gave Kirei a look, paying particular attention to the cross around his neck. “There is more than one bed, if that is of any concern to you.”  
  


“I see. Thank you for your help.” Kirei carried his suitcase and made his way to the suite with his key. Alone in the elevator, he breathed loudly, finally understanding why _someone_ seemed happier than usual regarding yet another international “business trip.” It was enough trouble when he was left back in Fuyuki, but to go as far as to interfere with his work–  
  


“You're late,” a voice rang out, echoing in the rather spacious room. “I was here an hour ago; where were you meddling around to make me wait?”  
  


“On what whim did you decide to follow me all the way here,” he said, avoiding the question and throwing his belongings onto one of the beds. “You had free reign of the church.”  
  


“Hah, as if that's free reign over anything of worth!” He stood up, standing face to face with Kirei. “A king should grant his subjects the honor of visiting them in person, should he not?”  
  


“I'm not your guardian; you know I have my own dealings in this city, which you _cannot_ interrupt just because you feel like it.” Kirei hung up his outer coat.  
  


A look of contempt. “That almost sounds like an order.”  
  


“A strong request, Gilgamesh. The meetings to which I am going are hardly going to be of any interest to you, anyway.”  
  


“When do they start?”  
  


“Tomorrow morning.”  
  


Gilgamesh pulled Kirei away from arranging his things upon hearing that. “Then you have this afternoon and evening to act as my guide to this city.”  
  


“I believe I did just say I was not going to be your guardian,” Kirei said, pulling out of Gilgamesh's grip.  
  


“Then don't be. Have you ever actually taken the time to explore this place?” Gilgamesh said, laughing. “No, probably not, considering how shackled you've said you've been to Church missions.”  
  


“And if I say I don't want to?” Kirei said indignantly.  
  


“I'll do whatever I please within this city; if something happens, one way or another, your precious organization as well as the Clock Tower will connect me to you.”  
  


The weight of that threat crushed any opposition left in a matter of seconds.  
  


And Gilgamesh knew it would, as he immediately pulled out a piece of paper on which he had written his own itinerary regarding this tour of the city. “I thought so. Now take me to these places.”  
  


Kirei glances at the list, mostly surprised that this was undoubtedly written by the king's own hand– he had assumed Gilgamesh couldn't be bothered to write such a list down, and with such astonishing penmanship. All the places listen were historical sites, which while not comparable to the age of the Servant himself, were likely chosen as vestiges of a time with which he would have more likely agreed.  
  


Was Gilgamesh looking to create a sense of nostalgia for a place he did not know, something Kirei was unable to do despite all his time here? For a moment, Kirei was almost envious. But only for that moment.  
  


“I doubt you'll be all that impressed, Gilgamesh.” Kirei said, trying to perhaps convince his Servant that this was not an ideal situation.  
 

Gilgamesh laughed. “Impressed by the ruins of an empire long gone? Of course not. But I still want to see.”  
  


In the end, the word of the king was irrefutable.

 

The whole of the city was slowly shifting from the orange-gold of sunset to the dark blue landscape that with the lights of all the buildings could almost mimic the night sky above it. In between the clusters of people, a white motor bike hummed past, carrying the two men to their first destinations. Some people looked with intrigue, but most didn't care, too involved in the sites of the city or in their own personal business. Gilgamesh left the driving to Kirei so that he could take in what he saw without distractions like wayward walkers who couldn't be bothered to pay attention. As unlike Kirei as it would be, he had silently hoped to hear his Master swear in this country's tongue, at stubborn passers-by who refused to get out of the way.  
  


The Colosseum was less of an attraction once they arrived, as Gilgamesh was more interested by the peddlers selling goods that were clearly fake, and the men dressed in what supposedly the soldiers of the ancient empire had worn picking the pockets of tourists through offers of photographs. When Kirei wasn't looking he had spirited himself up to the highest point of the theatre, pensive in his observation. Coming back down but a few moments later, he admitted that he was a bit saddened that such a center for spectacle was nothing more than rubble now. “I would have liked to see those 'gladiators' try not to be ravaged by a wild beast. That would have been something to marvel at, not this ruin.”  
  


The nearby Forum, the Pantheon, the Capitoline and Palatine Hills. All full of mere ghosts of what was said to be the greatest empire in the region. It was laughable to him, who considered the whole world his realm. Had he made this list just to feel sorry for such a people, for such a place? Was it to make his accomplishments seem all the more impressive? These questions ran through Kirei's head as they traveled from place to place, thinking himself that this really was a waste of time and energy. That was until they arrived at their last listed destination.

  
“Kirei, what did you say the name of this place meant?” Gilgamesh asked, looking at the pitiful collapsed building below.  
  


A strange question, Kirei thought, as he would have figured that much would be memorable to him, of all people. “ _Domus Aurea_. Golden House. The Emperor Nero had it built so that he could have a place he could consider livable, or so it's said.”  
  


Not a moment sooner, the king let out a loud laugh, startling most of the nearby people.

  
“Golden, is that right? After all the trouble he must have gone through to have this built, it now lies here in a heap of rubble, falling to pieces all the faster after centuries of nature tearing it apart. What a farce.” Gilgamesh was smiling, laughing at how ludicrous the sight was. “A tarnished mess remains where a shining home once stood.” He paused, thinking back to his own city. “And what little, then, of those walls I built with these hands– nothing more than sand at this point.”  
  


“Are you satisfied?” was all Kirei could ask.  
  


The Servant kicked a stone towards the excavated house below. “More than. This only affirms that this world is worthless now. Purging it in fire at this moment would be no loss to me.”  
  


“You've not the power to do so as you are.” Bluntly, Kirei reminded him.

  
“I don't need you to tell me, Kirei. Fuyuki remains the only place in this world where I can commence the purge– though I would not mind if I could start from here. Relieve its people from their miserable lives.” He started to walk back to the bike, taking the list he had made and trampling it underfoot. “For now, I have the rest of the night to entertain myself with what little I can here.”

 

“If it would suit your tastes, there is a place that offers a champagne-flavored gelato.” The suggestion is only half serious, but there is a slight gleam in the king's eye.

  
“Very well. We shall go there.”  
  


Kirei is surprised. “I would have thought such a place would be too mundane for you.”  
  


“I can suffer through the mundane for the time being,” Gilgamesh said. “After all– ”

He is stopped mid-sentence, Kirei not wanting him to embarrass himself. “I understand. Let's go.”

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting on my computer for a while with the premise of Gilgamesh's curiosity as to why so many people love to visit Rome. Not that Kirei does it out of leisure or his own edification, but it's important enough to visit for "work," as it were. In the end, it's just bigger and older than most of the other places in the world, in his mind. But not that old for him, of course. Tagging it Gen because it's not that shippy, but you don't need to squint to see it as such.
> 
> Also I'd somehow managed to go to Rome myself many years ago. Since it was so long ago, the logistics of moped-ing between all the places mentioned maybe unrealistic/they could have easily walked to and from. The gelato place mentioned at the very end is a [real cafe, bakery and ice cream parlor](http://www.giolitti.it/)! Amazing stuff, that gelato. Also no points for guessing the meaning of the pretentious Latin title this time around. Sorry. Also sorry for the jabs at Nero (Fate/-universe-wise anyway. The real Nero was. A Thing).
> 
> Gift fic for the wonderful Ondine who is an incredible artist and I wish I could match his talent with this, but alas.


End file.
